Precious Cargo

This story is dedicated to the one that got away.

If you're looking for a quick fix this won't be one for you; this story is a slow burn, I wanted to give the characters time to develop. Its length requires that I put it in the novella category but the theme would fall under romance, or at least my idea of it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

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Precious Cargo

Ch. 1

New Orleans gets about two weeks of good weather a year and those days aren't in a row. Oct 18th just so happened to be one of those days and Michelle was happy for it; despite her husband's success she drove a beat down minivan whose a/c hadn't worked in weeks. Now over 10 years old the van had seen better days; the passenger sliding door didn't open automatically any more, the oil pan had a constant small leak, and the kids were creating some sort of science experiment in the back seat that gave the van a perpetual moldy smell. She always asked her husband Chuck when they could get a new car but every request was met with a speech about depreciation on new cars and the fact that the van still worked and how hard it is to find another truly reliable vehicle. But today with the cool weather she rolled down the windows and enjoyed a nice breeze for the first time this year.

Normally after dropping the kids off Michelle would head to the gym for an hour before going back home where a mountain of laundry and dishes always waited for her, and no matter how much time she had it was never enough to get everything done, so things fell behind. The floors always needed to be swept and mopped, everything needed to be dusted, and the bathrooms, she didn't even want to think about the bathrooms. She wanted a maid to come at least once a week to help but couldn't bring herself to ask Chuck for the money. She knew what he'd say, "You're home all day. I just can't justify spending more money on something we can do ourselves." He would say 'we' but she knew he meant her, and so she just never asked.

She tried not to think about these things as she drove down Napoleon but she couldn't keep it out of her head. She tried to count the things she's grateful for instead, starting with her kids. She always started with her kids, 3 little hell raisers that kept her busy all the time but she loved dearly, so life wasn't so bad. Chuck made plenty of money and they lived well, the kids went to private school, and they were able to take a nice vacation every year. Last year they rented a beach house in Florida, where Michelle spent little time relaxing and more time chasing the kids around and fixing dinner every night. Forget it! She thought, unable to keep negative thoughts out of her head, today is my day.

Michelle took a right on Magazine St and made her way to La Boulangerie, and new little bakery she'd been wanting to try. She'd been saving money for what, she didn't know, but she had 120 dollars in her purse and she intended to spend every penny.

Driving slowly down Magazine she searched for the bakery and admired the clothes in all the little boutiques. Finally spotting La Boulangerie's blue awning she took a left on Cadiz and found a parking spot less than a block away. She felt free, stepping out of the van. The decision to take the day off took a weight off her shoulders.

The inside of La Boulangerie looks like you'd expect, exposed wood beams and pastries appetizingly displayed under glass. At the counter she took her time deciding what to get, mentally tasting each item, wanting the perfect delicacy to go with her mood; she settled on a hot vanilla latte and mini fruit tart. The outside chairs were uncomfortable discs of metal but the weather was so nice she went outside anyway.

The tart was okay and she enjoyed the berries but it was the latte she thoroughly enjoyed. Always overly conscientious of what she ate, the fattening, sweet coffee almost felt naughty. The drink was mostly full but the slight breeze had helped it cool enough for her to take indulgent sips.

Half turned, staring down the street, she was planning out the rest of her day when a thick Cajun voice startled her.

"Mon Dieu" came a deep voice from closer than she'd like.

Michelle jumped, turning to see a man she didn't recognize smiling like a 5-year-old with a new toy. He was tall and fit. He was wearing charcoal colored dress pants and a starched light blue button-up shirt with dirty work boots. The stranger didn't move as Michelle studied his face trying to recognize him. He looked to be in his early forties with a head full of jet black hair. His skin had a deep tan that said he spent too much time in the sun, and for lack of a better term he looked... GOOD.

She felt guilty not recognizing this person who so clearly knew her. His dark deep set eyes told her nothing and it felt like an eternity passed as she looked and he just kept smiling. Smiling, that's it, she thought. That stupid smart-ass smile, how could I forget?

"Oh my God, Jamie." she jumped out of her chair nearly knocking the table over.

Jamie didn't budge as Michelle came crashing into him; instead he threw his arms around her, lifting her off her feet in an embrace that took her immediately back to the carefree and safe world of high school. Jamie was much more muscled than she remembered and she might have let the hug linger too long as her hands rolled over the lines of his back.

Lowering her to the ground she struggled to let just one question out at a time.

"What are you..., where..., I mean how'd you get here?" She asked suddenly feeling stupid for the way it came out, and waiting for a smart-ass comeback.

"I mean. Oh, you know what I mean." She said before he could make his comeback.

"What am I doing here? Where have I been?" He said sorting out the questions for her.

"Yes, those things, and everything else too." She told him turning back to the table with a grin she feared wouldn't go away.

"Ha. It's a lot and a very long story." Jamie told her still standing.

"Well now I'm sure I want to hear it all. I have time today." Michelle said looking up at him and enjoying the inside joke to herself.

"Well let me tell Dominique hello and get a cup of coffee. I'll be right back out." Jamie told her before walking inside.

Michelle tried to calm down a little and made a conscious effort not to look back in the store to see what he was doing. She hadn't seen Jamie since high school and the gangly boy he used to be had filled out. Jamie had always been tall but the powerful shoulders he now sported were once curtain rods suspending a slight frame. Even his eyes were different; he still had that unmistakable grin but his eyes no longer had the wide wonderment of youth, now they were closed and predatory.

As Michelle was comparing all the ways he changed, a woman walked past and into the bakery. The woman was dressed casually but she was young and her jeans looked painted on, her hair and make-up seemed perfect. Truth is the girl wasn't at all out of place on Magazine; as Michelle looked around, most the women looked like the young girl and Michelle suddenly felt self-conscious. She was normally in the gym at this time so she was wearing sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt over the eternally unflattering sports bra. She had on no make-up and her hair was pulled back in a loose pony tail that served to keep it out of her face rather than as a fashion statement. Compared to Jamie in his dress cloths and his perfectly groomed hair she was a wreck.

Unable to fight her curiosity Michelle looked back inside. She'd like to tell herself that she was looking to see what Jamie was doing or just to get another look at the young girl but the truth is she was looking to see if he looked at her. Never in all their years had Jamie been anything more than a friend. Maybe she'd been so used to Chuck staring at other women and she wanted to know if Jamie was the same way or maybe she was curious if he saw the girl as she did but for some reason it mattered if he looked.

Jamie was in the back talking to some guy she assumed was Dominique and he didn't seem to notice the girl walk in. Michelle watched as Dominique poured Jamie a cup of coffee and handed him a baguette before he turned to go back outside. The girl looked up at Jamie as he walked by but he never gave her so much as a glance; his eyes were fixed on the door and Michelle saw his grin reappear before she turned hoping he didn't notice her staring.

"Who's Dominique?" She asked before he sat down.

"The owner." Jamie told her pulling out the seat next to her. "Dominique bought this place in 2000 to fill the need in New Orleans for real French bread." He continued.

"How did y'all meet?" She asked suddenly interested in the story.

Jamie just stared at her for a second before he answered.

"We met at a bar downtown. He took to me because I spoke French and I liked him because he could provide me with food." He told her picking up his coffee cup for a sip.

Unsatisfied with the story she let it go and moved on to other questions she had.

"What do you do now? Do you work in the city?" She asked, hoping for a good story.

She guessed an architect or engineer. Please God don't let him say doctor she thought; Chuck was a surgeon and she'd had enough doctor ego in her life.

"I'm the captain on a small tramp ship." He said without any pomp in his voice.

"That's funny name for a ship. What kind of ship is a tramp ship?" She asked, trying not to snicker and avoid the obvious innuendo.

"Well mainly it's a ship the hauls around prostitutes." He told her with a serious look.

"Huh?" was the best she managed, looking very confused.

"Sorry. I'm just messing with you. It's a ship that doesn't have a normal voyage. We tramp from place to place depending on what the cargo is and where we have to bring it." Jamie finally admitted.

"I deserved that. I forgot you were such a smart ass." Michelle said with a smile.

"What about you" He asked, taking another sip of coffee. "What do you do now?"

Michelle had a million more questions and compared to being a captain on a ship that traveled the world she thought her life was boring, but she told him anyway.

"I'm married and have 3 kids. I don't work, most days are just filled with laundry, dishes and dinner." she said hoping to get back to what he's been doing.

"There's no way you have 3 kids." He told her with a look of genuine surprise. "You don't look like you've aged a day since high school."

"Huh, well believe me; I have." She told him regretfully thinking of the last time she looked in a mirror.

"Michelle you look more beautiful than I remember." He told her. "I mean, you were always beautiful but now there's more to it. You have a grace that most women never achieve and youth can't provide."

Michelle and Jamie had been best friends in high school even though Jamie always wanted it to be more, still she was sure he was messing with her, or she would have been sure had she not caught him looking her up and down; and even though the compliment did feel good it made her uncomfortable too so she changed the subject.

"That's not grace, that's someone's runny nose on my shirt." She said with a chuckle.

"How old are your kids? Boys, girls?" He asked; taking a surprising interest in her life.

"10, 8, & 4" She told him. "The oldest 2 are girls and the youngest is a boy. They're all at school at St. Michael's."

Michelle waited for the most popular next question, "finally got that boy huh?", but that's not what he said.

"Little girls." He said, staring off and shaking his head. "I bet they've got your husband wrapped around their finger?"

"Yeah, I guess so. He's good with them when he's home." She said not wanting to talk about Chuck, but Jamie continued.

"I'd be a terrible father. I don't think I could help not spoiling the girls and I'd be way too hard on the boy." he said still staring off down the street.

"What's it like being a Captain?" She asked changing the subject before he asked about Chuck again.

"Boring mostly." He told her, turning his attention back to her. "The Chief Mate handles the cargo operations and manages the other officers, and the Chief Engineer handles the engine room. I get to handle the customers and the agents and make sure we're all legal for entering and leaving port."

"There must be something you like about it?" She asked.

He thought for a minute before answering.

"You know sometimes when we're in the middle of the Atlantic, not on any chart at all, I like to go up to the bridge early in the morning. It's always dark and it takes my eyes time to adjust but everyone's tired and everyone's quiet. Outside there's a pantheon of stars you'd never see in the city and nothing else in sight at all, the only noise is the low hum of the engine and waves sliding down the hull. I feel at peace there." He told her honestly.

Michelle was staring intently at him and let the silence build as she tried to picture the stars.

"Today is the quietest I've had in 3 years. I'd give anything for one of your mornings." She told him looking down at her cup of now cold coffee.

"Do you wanna see the ship?" He asked her.

"What, you have pictures of it?" Michelle asked waiting for him to pull out his phone.

"No, the ship; it's in New Orleans if you want to come see it." He said.

Michelle was silent, she didn't respond as she searched his face to see if he was messing with her again. The smart ass and sarcasm were gone and Jamie's face had a hopeful expression that seemed genuine.

"I'm sorry, I know you're busy and you didn't have plans of bumming around with me today. If you want, give me your number and I can call you when I'm back in town." He told her.

Michelle didn't answer while she rolled it over in her head, but Jamie's expression started to wilt.

"How would I get on? Would they let me on?" She asked, trying to buy time to think about it.

"I'm the Captain, they'll do what I say." He told her, the hopeful expression returning. "Besides, when the next chance you'll have to go on a freighter?"

He was right about that.

"Okay." She told him. "Let's go."

She'd never been to any of the docks but she'd heard they could be dangerous; her heart raced at the idea of going.

Jamie had taken a cab to the bakery and ask if she minded driving. The idea of him seeing what she drove, let alone him riding in it made Michelle more than a little embarrassed but she agreed anyway and walked him to the minivan. Jamie didn't seem bothered at all and appeared not to notice the stale smell when they got in if he was judging her for the car she drove he didn't act like it, in fact, he looked... well, excited.

"I'm sorry about the smell." She told him sheepishly as they got in. "The kids make such a mess and I never have enough time to clean up back there."

"None of us have enough time to do all the things we want to do, and what I really want to do is hear more about you. The fact that your van doesn't look like it just came off the showroom helps me see things from your perspective and that's the greatest thing I could ever ask to see." He told her with that same excited expression. "I'm glad it's not clean."

Michelle gave him a distrustful look but instead of backing down Jamie picked up a crumpled McDonald's bag and started to open it.

"At least you got me lunch," he said reaching in the bag.

Michelle couldn't have been more horrified if he'd found a dirty diaper; she slapped the bag out of his hands.

"Don't eat that!" She told him louder than she wanted.

"Well, then you owe me lunch," Jamie said with the smart-ass grin reappearing on his face.

Michelle didn't know how to respond so she just started the van and pulled away. She probably should have asked where they were going since her mind kept wandering back to having to pick up the kids by 3 and she still hadn't figured out what she was going to do for dinner.

Ch. 2

Once on the road Jamie gave her turn by turn directions but never stopped asking questions. He mainly asked about her kids, which Michelle was happy to talk about since they were her pride and joy. The conversation was light and came easy as the connection they used to have started coming back.

"The ship's at Jordan Rd wharf, take a right here." He said, pointing to the exit.

"I didn't know there were docks back here." She told him.

"Yeah they fell out of favor years ago because only small ships fit." Jamie told her as they weaved past empty warehouses.

"If the dock's not used then what's your ship doing here?" She asked him growing wary.

"We're not here for cargo right now. If I tie up here I don't have to pay docking fees and the crew can come and go as they want." He told her. "In fact, if we weren't here then you couldn't come see the ship because most docks won't let you in."

"Oh," she said as she drove the van through a broken gate and onto the dock.

"I can just drive down there?" Michelle asked slowing the van.

"Sure," Jamie said. "That's my ship there, you can just drive us right up to the gangway."

At the end of the dock facing them was a ship that looked to Michelle like it was taken from a WWII movie, except instead of being gray, the house was white and the hull dark blue with Riverine Enterprise painted on the bow. The house of the ship was in the middle and it had long boom arms sticking up from the in front of the house and behind it.

Michelle couldn't help but stare as the ship seemed to rise up out of the water as they got close, she drove slowly taking note of the giant lines holding the ship to the dock and feeling small next to something that looked more like a building than a floating vessel.

The gangway was in the middle of the ship and Michelle pulled right up to it. She didn't see anyone around until they got out the van and she noticed a young man at the top of the gangway giving her a quizzical look, but as soon as the man saw Jamie step out of the van he disappeared again behind the side of the ship.

Unsure of what to do Michelle just stood there until Jamie started walking to the gangway and motioned for her to follow. The gangway wasn't much, just aluminum steps that led to the main deck with rope for handrails and netting for sides. At the top of the stairs was the young man she'd seen looking down at them; he was young, probably in his early twenties and had blonde hair with a military style cut. He was tall, taller than Jamie by a few inches but he had a slight build and despite his eager expression, he seemed nervous too.

"Michelle, this is Aaron," Jamie said introducing the two. "He's our radio operator."

Michelle and Aaron exchanged hellos and Aaron quickly returned his attention back to Jamie.

"Captain we have..." Aaron started to say but Jamie cut him off.

"What's the POB?" Jamie asked him.

"27, sir," Aaron said.

"28" Jamie corrected him. "Do you understand?" Jamie asked leveling his eyes at Aaron.

Aaron looked confused for a second then appeared to understand.

"Yes, sir." He said and turned to disappear into a hatch.

"What's a POB?" Michelle asked Jamie.

Persons on board." Jamie told her. "We normally have a crew of 27, but with you on board, it's 28," Jamie said making his way to a stairway leading one deck up.

"Why does it matter; I'm only gonna be her for a little while?" She asked.

"If there's a fire, I count heads. If the count is off then it's time to find out who's missing, that's all." He told her as he opened a hatch leading inside.

Michelle was fascinated by everything around her, even the hatch to go inside was interesting with its high thresh hold and 6 metal handles that were used to secure it against the weather; she was starting to get the sense that this wasn't just someplace people worked but it was a different world.